As you can imagine from my last post, a strategy meeting was necessary to determine the best way to mend the fences. Thanks to my previous incarnation as a sales representative for a big American company, I am fully versed at bring back customers from the edge, fluent in remaining calm while being berated for events beyond my control. Possibly this was the prerequisite for the Zen like calm required here. Kerri and I had decided a class in Customer Service was in order. Our intention was to first define customer service, assess our behavior at the meeting within that definition, and determine next steps. Good lord this feels like my previous profession.
We arrive at Mohamed’s office early so we can go over our strategy. It is important to let him in on our strategy as he is translating. Well, let me tell you, it certainly didn’t go as expect.
Me: Blah blah blah, listen to your customer.
Blah, blah, blah, the customer is always right.
Blah, blah blah the goal of a meeting is to resolve (resoudre) issues not battle with your clients about who
is right and wrong.
Blah, blah, blah, never call your customer a thief.
Him: If a customer starts hitting you, you aren’t required to sit and take it.
He, who is so calm, so supportive, usually so modern, if he is having such a reaction to the mere mention that possibly we could have behaved better I can only imagine what the women will do. As further proof, his boss walks in and starts lobbing the same accusations about the Responsables. Mind you, he wasn’t even at the meeting. I don’t even think he was in town. Long story short, apparently, one of the Responsbles said something so egregious to the elder of the group that the women had not choice but to react. In this culture, your elders are respected.
Kerri and I quickly revise our lesson/meeting notes. Out goes the entire section on “who’s to blame that LEDD is no longer buying CereAmine for the Atar centers. Answer: Us, for not doing a better job of ensuring product adoption” (now that really sounds like my old life) Forget my idea that we offer an apology.
I begin by asking the question, how do you treat customers so that they keep buying your product? To that I received a list of terrific answers. I ended that section with “it’s easier to keep a customer then find a new one”.
Next, I say “it’s important to evaluate what happened with LEDD and how we can move forward". I have no idea how to say “move forward” in French, I am sure it’s not a direct translation. I did learn that “word of mouth” in French is “bouche oreille”. (mouth ear) I also explained “to give an earful” to someone the other day. Those crazy idioms. I say, “I heard two problems expressed (amidst all of the name calling). The mother’s said that their children didn’t like the flavor and that some became sick. After the translation, the group eye’d me suspiciously.
I can tell that it’s going to be hard to get them to stay calm, to listen and to seriously address to the points the LEDD brought up as problems. Christ, I am not sure I have the language skills to nuance that although this may not be the fault of their product or production it has, none the less, become their problem to overcome. (yes, I am back at MHC) Somehow, we need to try to diminuez la resistance.
I need to mention that the day before this meeting Kerri and I had spent some time with Genevieve and she now believes that possibly the problem with the flavor may be that it was overcooked at the centers. Traditional N’sha is brought to a rolling, molten boil for about 30 – 45 minutes. CereAmine, because the grains have been precooked (as you well know by earlier posts) takes about 10 -15….hence the disconnect. At this point, Genevieve has agreed that an in-service for her staff on how to prepare CereAmine is in order.
Of course, I don’t tell the ladies any of this yet. First I want us to really examine/explore how we can address the above issues. The point of my work here is to leave behind some tidbit of knowledge/technique that they can translate to other business ventures. I am teaching them to fish before I eventually give them the fish that I once again caught. (is recaught a word?) Man, I want to go fishing in the Sierra’s.
Next on the agenda, what we can do differently next time to lessen the problems and diminish the resistance to CereAmine? I must confess they liked my ideas. They became down right enthusiastic that yes, indeed, it is our responsibility to ensure that our new customers truly understand the benefits of CereAmine and the correct method of preparation so that they too become converts. They agree that it is important that each woman can explain those benefits as well as the cause of diarrhea. (Flies, lack of soap and sanitation, etc)
They have requested a class on the valeur de protein. Well they didn’t exactly ask for a class on the benefits of protein, because I'm pretty sure that they don’t know what protein is. They want to understand why CereAmine is healthful. Their sales pitch for CereAmine is that it is good for you because it has lots of vitamins (pronounced vee tah meen). I don’t think they know what vitamins are either. I am pretty sure they couldn’t name vitamin c, e, or the b complexes. It’s just a handy catchphrase for something healthy. But a lesson in protein is what they are going to get.
Finally, they assure me that inspite (despite) of what happened at the meeting; they are capable of going to the centers and giving a lesson, providing we go along too. Unless I am deluded, I believe that all in all, it went really well.
Things might be looking up.
Cheers from here,
Happy Thanksgiving
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